(Blog-1)My journal about the Criminal Justice Administration of Canada

 
One topic I found interesting in this class was the public perception of crime trends. Public opinion surveys have established that the general public constantly believes that crime rate is increasing despite the fact that it could really be stable or possible even declining. Julian V. Roberts mentions in her book “Criminal justice in Canada: an overview” that the reason people believe crime is increasing when in fact it could be decreasing is because police statistics and victimization surveys do not reach the public due to the fact that downward or stable trends are not newsworthy. Misconceptions such as people believing that crime rates are on a constant rise promotes a negative attitude, and has people believing that the justice system is failing to control crime or prevent crime. I personally believe that media is solely responsible for this misinterpretation because shows such as Dexter, CSI: Miami, CSI: Las Vegas, CSI: NY, Law and Order, Special Victims, Bones etc are on constant reply. Watching movies and shows and news which only highlights the negative parts have put in the minds of people that what’s happening on TV, must be happening outside their door as well.  Another misconception that civilians have due to media is the belief that the high rates of crime involve high rates of violence when in reality violence makes up a VERY small number of the cases.